Parents arrested after children found living in deplorable conditions, surrounded by sewage and mold, deputies say

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BUNNELL, Fla. - Two parents were arrested on felony charges after their five children were found living in deplorable conditions at Central Florida home, deputies said.

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said that deputies responded to a home Espanola Road in Bunnell on February 28 for a welfare check. The request was ordered by county school officials who said that they were reports of sewage backing up into the home.

They said that when deputies knocked on the door, a 12-year-old female answered. She got her mother, 31-year-old Tiffany Berry, to step outside to speak with deputies. She reportedly told the deputies that she and 34-year-old Nicholas Carter have live inside the home with their five children, who range in age from 3-months to 12-years-old.

Deputies were invited into the home by Berry and they immediately smelled a putrid odor resembling human waste, the Sheriff's Office said. Berry claimed that the smell was from the septic tank that has been collapsed since 2017 or 2018. She reportedly added that the sewage was no longer hooked to the malfunctioning septic and was being discharged directly onto the ground beneath the house from the only bathroom.

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Deputies said that they also noted that the ceiling inside the home was missing, wet, and rotting in most areas. In the kitchen, they observed that the floor was giving way to the bare ground below where the sewage was being discharged. They also noticed that the kitchen walls were missing in some areas, exposing bare wood covered in mold and rot, allowing sunlight through.

They went into the bathroom next and noticed more pieces of the ceiling and roof missing, they said. Wet and rotting wood was exposed and covered in mold. The bathroom floor was also very decayed, they added, and covered in mold around the tub. The tub had reportedly settled into the flooring of the house and was gaping in some areas, allowing the smell of waste below to be inhaled.

Then in the bedrooms, deputies again noticed that the ceiling was rotting and falling off directly above the children's bunk beds. They said that all of the bedrooms inside the home were full of a moldy odor and covered in general filth. While inside, deputies observed multiple live and dead cockroaches scattered along the floor, as well as crawling along the television and furniture in the room.

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Deputies said that Berry admitted she was aware of the conditions of the house and the adverse health effects it was having on her children. She added that the kids have stepped in the holes on the floor multiple times. She claims to have reached out for assistance but no one would help her. She said that even the Department of Children and Families (DCF) told her just to move. The property owner of the home, according to Berry, said that the lease had expired and that the landlord will not make repairs. She and Carter reportedly had plans to make repairs when they get their tax refund.

While investigating, deputies said that they found that the oldest child has an untreated mental health condition and was often left home unattended. She was allegedly instructed by Berry and Carter to look after her siblings while the parents went to work. They reportedly even told her to hide if anyone knocked.

According to school records, deputies said that this has been an ongoing problem since May of 2016, as the oldest child then arrived at school covered in bug bites and smelling of urine. Since then, Berry and Carter have reportedly been contacted by multiple organizations. They have all offered assistance, which was either turned down or never followed up on.

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“I am so happy that we were able to get these kids out of this house before someone was injured or became seriously ill as a result of the deplorable conditions inside the home,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Between the mold, the unstable foundation, and the fact that these kids were being left unsupervised, this situation could have had a tragic ending. These two ‘parents’ have been given every opportunity to make improvements to not just their kids’ lives but their own lives that they have completely ignored. Hopefully, DCF and other agencies will help these parents and children get the help they need. It is unfortunate these conditions and the parent’s lack of actions deteriorated to a criminal case. Just because you may be poor you must still take care of your children. Sadly, I noticed the large flat screen TV in the room. Parenting is about making the right choices for your family.”

DCF has reportedly taken custody of all five children. The parents, Berry and Carter, were arrested and charged with Child Neglect without Great Bodily Harm and transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility.